Monthly Archives: June 2009

They found Nate’s body in Pokegama Lake – I don’t know anything else. Just that the family is filled with grief. Please continue to pray for them as they are heading to the hospital, which will be a very difficult time, and in the coming days, weeks, years…I don’t have any details on memorial services but we’ll be going.

We will miss you, Nathan, but know you are with our Heavenly Father in peace. It is so encouraging knowing that Nathan loved Jesus with all of his heart – in spite of all of this, there is comfort in knowing where he is.

We will be heading up north on Thursday morning – I absolutely can’t wait to get there. If you have been following my blog for a while, you’d remember this post and the absolute heartache I felt last year, stuck on bedrest, not able to join my amazing family in our annual 4th of July party. This year we will be there with bells on! We can’t wait! Boating, grilling out, games and games of washoe, singing by the campfire, tubing, skiing, fireworks on the lake, movies, smores, kiddos playing in the water, sand castles, minnows, puppies…ahhh, I can’t wait.

It will feel differently this year as Nate and his family usually come to our party. With them not there, a void will be present. We are still praying for a miracle…and thinking about you, Sam and kids.

We will also be going to the rest of Judy’s memorials and time with friends to celebrate her life. What a devasting, difficult, but beautiful and exciting week. More to come.

In the past few days, our families have heard some pretty tough news. The first was the passing of our good friend, Judy. Her son, Matt, played football with Brian at St. Olaf and Matt ended up marrying one of my good friends, Jenn. Through football, my in-laws became really close friends with Judy & her husband, Rich. We’ve known them for about 9 years and had some great times with them at Olaf and down in Iowa. We are feeling the loss of her amazing spirit. Judy lost her year-long battle to cancer on Saturday night. Matt & Jenn are expecting their first child in September – none of this can be easy. We are heading down to Iowa for the visitation and funeral.

Then last night my best friend Jess called me. Another family friend of ours had a terrible tragedy that still has missing pieces. Our friends, the Js, have a son, Nate, who is married to Sam and they have 4 young children. Yesterday they went out to Nesbit Island, an island on the other side of the lake from my parent’s house, with some youth group kids. Apparently Nate and another friend were in a canoe when the wind picked up and a wave tipped them over. Sam, Nate’s wife, got on the jet ski to where the canoe was. She found the other guy that was in the canoe with Nate and, sadly, he had already drowned. Nate is still missing. The divers were resuming where they left off this morning. I grew up on this lake and have never experienced something like this. It was choppy and windy yesterday – just a big puzzle right now.

I can’t understand everything that is happening – praying is the only thing I can think to do. Nate is still missing and that family is grieving at the possibilities. Judy’s family is content that Judy finally has peace, but will forever feel the void of their loss. Today is a day where I shake my head in disbelief, but get down on my knees in prayer…deep prayer where I don’t necessarily look for answers…I just pray. What else can I do right now?

I know some of you that read this blog pray. Please do so now. Pray for the J family and what they are experiencing, pray for the Willis family and the loss they feel. Thank you.

Do you ever feel like a robot with the same answer for every question? Every person I have seen in the past few days has heard the same thing from me – ‘we’re good…just really busy’ Who isn’t busy? It is summer and summer are some of the best, but most crazy-busy, months of the year. They are that way for us too. The biggest thing going on in our family right now is the fact that my husband tore down our old deck and is building a new one. He is such a handy guy (I know, I was surprised too but thoroughly impressed!) We now have the majority of the decking laid, thanks to our entire family for helping this past weekend, and I can finally envision what it is going to be like. We are going to love it! And you will too when some of you come over to have a BBQ with us.

I have pictures to post from our deck project.
I have pictures to post of my new nephew Brodie who I just met this past weekend – I instantly fell in love. He is beautiful!
I have pictures to post from 3 sessions I’m done in the past 2 days.
And I have some updated pics to post of little Mr. Logan…who is not so little anymore. He is more and more everyday taking steps all around the house – he does this new ‘face’ whenever we ask him to. He puts his head down and frowns, then cracks himself up because he makes us laugh so hard. He also loves to imitate everything you do. From ‘mooing’ sounds to singing, he can mimic. It is so great to watch him.

The main reason I wanted to post this morning is becuase I heard some news last night that just reaffirmed for me how incredible gracious and loving our Father is. Our friends have been blessed with a beautiful gift and we are just in awe of His faithfulness in timing and perfect plan for His children. I smile just thinking about them, and the way He has spoken to them. Amazing, thank you Jesus.

It was a particularly beautiful, particularly windy Sunday afternoon when I had the opportunity to photograph Sarah & Tommy for their engagement pictures by the Stone Arch Bridge. Right away I enjoyed their company. They were both laid back, fun to be around, and care about each other a lot, which was obvious during our session together. Almost every time I asked them to kiss, they would giggle at one another. It was so great I asked them to kiss about 20 times…they tried all different kinds of things with me, even jumping in front of a garage door that was much too high off the ground for Sarah’s heels. She was a trooper the entire day – and yes, I photographed the shoes – I had to. They were great! Some of my favorite shots from this day was when they were just being themselves, totally unaware of the camera and whether or not I was getting a good shot of them.

I am REALLY excited about their wedding in December! I love winter weddings and I know theirs will be beautiful. Sarah & Tommy, enjoy your sneek peek, and thanks again for allowing me to be a part of your moments together. You reminded me of why I do what I do and love it so much. Thank you.

Often times I have to remind myself to soak in what is all around me. I take things for granted and simply move on, day after day, not opening my eyes to my surroundings. I have worked in downtown Minneapolis for 5 years. There are moments, walking on Nicollet, where I just stop and look. The people, the crowded lunch dates, the happy hour specials, the artists playing their instruments on the sidewalks, the bands playing in Peavey’s Plaza…incredible. I often take for granted where we live and what Minneapolis/St.Paul have to offer. My engagement session with Brooke & Jeff was so much fun for me. You don’t need much in terms of surroundings when you are photographing love, which these two definitely have, but visiting the Mill City Museum proved more than worth it.

The story is simple – boy meets girl, they fall in love, she waits a while for him to finally pop the question (like so many of us do), and he does. Jeff proposed down by the Mississippi River, so we went to that exact same location to photograph the two of them now. It was beautiful for me – to see the bench where he proposed, walking down the same sidewalk he did, wondering what he was thinking and feeling at the time. One of my best memories from this session was when I asked Brooke to climb up on Jeff’s back. This was a first for me: she didn’t really know how? Jeff informed me that this was normal for her and that she didn’t really understand the leg part. Ha ha – it made for some pretty cute pics though. I left those only for you, Brooke, you’ll see them soon.

In all seriousness, Brooke & Jeff, I’m so anxious for your wedding this fall. You are a beautiful, fun, joyous couple who know each other inside and out. I love that. I look forward to celebrating with you and capturing those special moments for you.